In general, tubular carriers, which have an essentially cylindrical, for example, regular cylindrical design and extend along a longitudinal axis of the carrier, are installed in the exhaust gas flow path of exhaust gas treatment devices integrated in internal combustion engines. This carrier is provided with two carrier elements, which are, e.g., essentially identical and are also generally called half shells. The carrier elements have respective connection sections, which extend from the first axial end area of the carrier body to be manufactured to the second axial end area thereof essentially in parallel to the longitudinal axis of the carrier. When assembling a carrier body of an exhaust gas treatment device having such a design, an exhaust gas treatment element, which is designed, for example, as a soot particle filter element or as a catalytic converter element, is first arranged in one of the carrier elements, and the exhaust gas treatment element is surrounded in its outer circumferential area by at least one layer of fiber material permanently locking this exhaust gas treatment element in the finished carrier body. The other carrier element is subsequently moved onto the carrier element already containing the exhaust gas treatment element in a merging motion direction, and the connection sections of the two carrier elements are each arranged essentially in a plane directed at right angles to the merging motion direction. At the end of the motion of the two carrier elements towards one another, the connection sections of these carrier elements are mutually in contact with one another, so that two connection areas, in which the two carrier elements, which enclose and fix between them the exhaust gas treatment element surrounded by fiber material can be connected to one another, for example, by welding, are formed with the respective connection sections touching each other.
When manufacturing an exhaust gas treatment device in the above-described manner, the problem arises that fibers of the fiber material covering the exhaust gas treatment device move into the area between two connection sections brought into contact with one another and are pinched there. Since this makes it difficult or impossible to establish a stable and especially also exhaust gas-tight connection of the two carrier elements, the fibers of the fiber material must be pressed inwardly, in general, by hand before the final motion towards one another such that they will not protrude into the junction area of the connection sections of the two carrier elements, which said connection sections are to be connected to one another.